Quiet quitting is another term that is on the rise these days. Most people associate it with someone resigning from his or her current position. But, actually, it is a kind of resistance against the busy work culture of going one step further than what the job demands.
The COVID-19 pandemic did not affect only our lives by imposing restrictions and lockdowns on public gatherings, but also it prompted many individuals to rethink their career options. According to the United States Census Bureau, during the Great Resignation, 71.6 million employees resigned from their jobs between April 2021 and April 2022, for a monthly average of 3.98 million.
Bear in mind that employees are not only quitting their jobs, but they also want to work in an environment where they are able to limit their workloads.
What is Quiet Quitting?
A person who quietly quits is someone who realizes their value as a person is not determined by their work. Unlike career-oriented individuals, the quiet quitter will do the bare minimum rather than engage in hustle culture. It is expected that the employee will carry on working, but they won’t exceed their responsibilities. Rather than going above and beyond, a quiet quitter will only do what needs to be done until they move on to another position.
Quite quitting, once also known as employee disengagement, has become more popular among millennials and generation Z employees that are redefining what it means to be dedicated employees.
In contrast, quiet quitting can be a sign of burnout or dissatisfaction with one’s position. As a way of dealing with burnout, employees do quit quitting. In addition, it might also indicate that they are considering changing positions or are actively seeking new employment.
How Does Quite Quitting Affect Your Organization?
According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report, the global economy lost $7.8 trillion in productivity because of disengaged employees.
There are serious concerns about productivity levels for employers amid fears of an impending economic slowdown. The second quarter of this year saw a decline of 2.5 percent in nonfarm worker productivity, compared to the same period last year. Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is the steepest drop since 1948.
Several major companies, including Google, are warning that layoffs are imminent due to declining productivity. A layoff costs 200 percent of an employee’s salary, which is detrimental to both employees and employers.
How to Prevent Quiet Quitting?
It is just as damaging to a business to have an employee quit quietly as it is when an employee quitting outright. Keeping your employees happy isn’t always easy. Sometimes employees may feel disengaged, underappreciated, or unfulfilled in their work, then there is a possibility that they will quietly quit on you when this happens. In order to prevent quiet quitting on your team, check out these eight tips:
1: Encourage Open Communication
If employees have concerns or issues they wish to discuss with their managers, they should feel comfortable approaching them. Rather than waiting on their employees, managers should regularly check in with them. An employee who can discuss workplace issues with their manager openly is more likely to be engaged at work as a result.
2: Promote a Healthy Work-Life Balance
Your employees must have a good work-life balance in order to stay engaged and happy at work. You should make sure that all of your employees have the opportunity to take a vacation, sick or personal days whenever they need them. If you can help it, avoid scheduling too many late nights and weekends during the week.
3: Ensure That Employees Feel Valued
Feeling valued and appreciated at work increases an employee’s motivation and engagement at work. Make sure employees receive both positive and constructive feedback. Furthermore, your employees deserve recognition for their hard work. Whether publicly or privately, do this in the best way for them.
4: Avoid Overworking Your Team
Employees who are overloaded with work are more likely to be stressed out and frustrated at work. You must avoid planning too many extra hours or putting employees under too much pressure to accomplish unrealistic goals. Overstressing your employees will only add to your responsibility and stress levels.
5: Don’t Buy into the Hustle Culture Mentality
A hustle culture mentality highlights hard work and putting forth the effort required to achieve success. However, overtime work can give rise to an employee feeling overstressed and
devalued. To avoid falling victim to this mindset, you must instead work to create a better and healthier corporate culture that prioritizes worker well-being and healthy boundaries.
6: Listen to Your Team
Your employees are the most accurate source of data regarding the experience of working for your organization. Thus, you should pay attention to what your staff members say and take into account their advice. This will show them that you appreciate their opinions and will enable you to make the necessary changes to enhance the company’s work culture.
7: Be Flexible
Employees appreciate flexible organizations that compensate for their requirements. Enabling workers to work from home, having flexible schedules, or even sharing some of their duties with others can help your employees to stay happy at the workplace.
8: Create Opportunities for Growth
Employees who feel trapped tend to be unhappy and disengaged at work. In order to prevent this, provide employees with opportunities to grow and advance within the organization. For example, provide training as well as development opportunities to give new challenges and stretch tasks regularly.
Every organization would not want their staff members to quietly quit on them. It is the responsibility of both the employer and the employees to collaborate in order to create an atmosphere where everybody feels empowered and valued. Discussing employee engagement and cultivating cultures of oneness are crucial endeavors that benefit the organization, manager, and employee. You must attend to them, as this way you will reduce the chances of employees quietly quit on you.
9: Monitor Mood and Behavior Changes
It is more likely that Quiet Quitters are disillusioned high-performers instead of chronic under-performers. Don’t ignore the pullbacks of your employees. It can be a sign of trouble brewing when productivity or enthusiasm suddenly drop. Do some digging to identify the root cause when outspoken employees go quiet in meetings.
As the employee may be facing personal difficulties or may just need a break, this behavior is not necessarily indicative of a quiet quitting. In spite of this, it is important to keep an eye on your team members and be aware of their moods.
10: Maintain Boundaries
Quiet quitting enables employees to establish limitations and avoid coworkers or managers from invading personal time. If you reinforce those boundaries on behalf of employees, they will be less likely to resort to this extreme reaction.
- You can choose not to answer after-hours calls or emails
- Set up an on-call system
- Establish guidelines for defining what constitutes an appropriate after-hours emergency and a way to mark messages as urgent
- Give employees the option of leaving early the next day if they stay late
- Establish a safe reporting system for staff who feel pressured to overwork
It is highly effective to advocate for employees in order to prevent quite quitting. You might be less likely to see your team members exceed their private time boundaries if you are more vocal about their rights as a leader. You will save your employees from confrontational stress by standing up for them and speaking on their behalf.
11: Be Upfront About Role Growth
Quiet quitters often complain about spending more time on their jobs than they were supposed to. Due to the dynamic nature of the business world, and particularly in startups, most jobs develop beyond what is described in the job posting. It is not uncommon for positions to become more specialized over time. Occasionally, employees are surprised by sudden or drastic changes that happen shortly after they join the company.
During the interview process, be open about the role’s growth. In your job description, you can indicate that you anticipate the position expanding in the future to include new responsibilities. In case this possibility arises, you should discuss it early in the hiring process to manage expectations and find a candidate who can handle such growth.
12: Properly Compensate Your Team
Quiet quitting is often caused by pay discrepancies. In many cases, employees feel the rewards of extra work do not outweigh the effort they would have to make. Employees may be told that they should “deal with it” despite their managers promising them a raise that never materializes.
Rather than money, a lack of respect is the root of the problem. As an employer, you can’t ignore your employees’ comfort levels, current workloads, or protests. Piling on additional responsibilities tells employees that your company only values output, not their well-being. A team member may feel violated by additional duties taken on against their consent and against their signed work agreement.
The company often takes advantage of employees by providing as much free work as possible. Employees often feel taken advantage of and may think they are being exploited. It is important to maintain employer trust by exchanging labor for compensation equally. An employee will likely feel devalued if they don’t receive appropriate rewards for extraordinary efforts.
Maintaining competitive pay and boosting compensation when extraordinary efforts or results are achieved is essential. Recognizing your employees’ achievements, providing perks and benefits, and being flexible can all contribute to their compensation. In contrast, ancillary compensation is less persuasive if you are significantly underpaying your employees.
13: Offer Quarterly or Biannual Performance Reviews
Increased performance reviews will allow for an open and continuous dialogue between employers and employees. Providing feedback is crucial to employee satisfaction, and performance reviews are a great way to do so.
Performance reviews are a great way to learn about what their employees are working on, what issues they’re facing, and what resources they need to be more productive. If you provide feedback to your employees they feel valued.
Managers must work on fostering, inspiring as well as reinforcing discussions among employees so that they understand what kind of value they are having in the organization. They must be capable of openly communicating with leadership regarding not only their work but also their goals and ambitions. Simply they must create a safe environment for two-way discussions.
All of these things can result in creating a strategic plan that will assist in directing employees towards the progress they desire in their career as well as life. This way employees take these reviews with full understanding that they are being recognized, and appreciated as well as given opportunities to help them go forward toward their objectives.
Is Quiet Quitting a Real Trend?
Based on a June 2022 Gallup poll of employees aged 18 and higher, the quiet quitters “comprise 50% of the U.S. employees.” This survey has also found that these numbers are higher among employees who are under the age of 35. Gallup also asked a variety of questions about employee engagement and their participation as well as excitement in the workplace.
According to the findings by Gallup, only 32% of the employees said that they felt engaged at the workplace, 18% said that they did not feel engaged and the rest of the 50% Gallup decided to count as quiet quitters, who were dissatisfied with their jobs but didn’t say anything about it.
If these figures are correct, it appears that 68% of American employees are unsatisfied with their jobs in some way.
Why are People Quiet Quitting?
There is a lot of controversy surrounding quiet quitting. There are those who think quiet quitting is a long-overdue movement that reclaims control for the employees, and others who believe it represents a generational crisis. Quiet quitting movement means that employees shouldn’t go beyond what they’re paid for. They advocate for doing their jobs as described, other than subscribing to hustle culture, which is rampant in today’s world.
People adopt this philosophy that works should not take over their lives. More and more people are also starting to realize that work isn’t everything as a post-pandemic world has allowed many to work with increased freedom and prioritize what really matters.
Signs of Quite Quitting
Here are the main signs of quite quitting:
1: Poor Teamwork
Quiet quitting is a behavior that is detrimental to the team. They will not want to collaborate or work as a team because they will only be concerned with themselves and will only do what is necessary to survive or keep their jobs. One or more employees on your team may have mentally checked out if they’re not working well together. Some employees may believe they deserve a higher wage before they can justify prioritizing collaborative or teamwork efforts.
2: Disengagement in Meetings
Disengagement is a sign of mental fatigue. There are several reasons why a teammate may be disengaged, such as being busy at work, burnout, or personal issues. They may also be disengaged if they are planning to leave the team. Disengagement is characterized by poor listening skills, inattention, and little to no contribution during meetings. In extreme cases, disengaged employees may skip meetings entirely.
3: Lack of Enthusiasm at Work
If your coworkers aren’t energized at work, it could be because they’ve overstepped their responsibilities, don’t believe they can gain knowledge or thrive with their involvement, or just don’t feel appreciated or recognized. An absence of excitement is an indication that an individual is quietly quitting.
If you realize that your staff members are not completing their tasks on time, making a contribution to your common objectives, or making a stand or making statements in meetings, this could reveal that they are beginning to lose enthusiasm. Sometimes when your staff members do not believe they are being recognized for their efforts, they could lose motivation to work effectively.
4: Isolation from Other Team Members
Employees also can isolate themselves from other team members as they no longer appreciate these professional relationships or merely do not see collaborative efforts as a core component of their responsibilities. Thus, their communication and collaboration with their teammates will suffer.
5: Poor Performance
In spite of the fact that poor performance may be attributed to a variety of factors, this is one of the most obvious signs that a member of your staff may be quietly quitting. If an employee who is showing these behaviors is always enthusiastic, their poor performance will be a major change. If they become disengaged, you may notice that they’re only doing the bare minimum, even though they used to hit every benchmark and beat every shared goal.
Conclusion
Quiet quitting plagues organizations across a wide range of industries. If you do not act quickly to build a place of work that appreciates your employees, you will end up losing them. Your employees must be fairly compensated, and your work environment must be one that values individual efforts as well as time. A work-life balance environment will encourage employee retention, but if you don’t foster that, you’ll lose them.
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